


Didn't Say Goodbye, Now I'm Frozen in Time

by TARDISTraveller42



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Fix-It, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Nightmares, Not Canon Compliant, Post-Movie: Star Trek Nemesis (2002), geordi and data are married and share quarters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-04
Updated: 2020-11-04
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:35:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27379588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TARDISTraveller42/pseuds/TARDISTraveller42
Summary: *Spoilers for Nemesis*At the end of Nemesis, Data's fate was less than kind. But...was that horrible nightmare situation really real? Or could Geordi's mind have invented the whole horrible ordeal?A fix-it fic because there was a super easy way to avoid That Thing happening at the end of Nemesis and canon can be molded like clay, right?
Relationships: Data & Geordi La Forge, Data/Geordi La Forge
Comments: 7
Kudos: 45





	Didn't Say Goodbye, Now I'm Frozen in Time

Picard needed rescuing and Data had volunteered. Just another day on the Enterprise-E. 

But this time...this time was different. Geordi knew that, as he walked Data to the airlock. He knew that, as he stopped short and Data walked forward without him. He knew that, as he looked at the man he loved, and had loved for a long time now. 

Up until now, they’d all shared a sense of immortality. No matter what happened, how bad it got, how sticky the situation, they all made it through. No senior officer had died since Tasha Yar nearly 15 years before. They were immune to the perils that a Starfleet career could throw at you. They were unique and special, especially Data.

But today...today it seemed their luck had run out. And Geordi had to accept that.

There wasn’t time to create another emergency transporter. Wasn’t time to install it in Data’s opposite arm, so that he and Picard could both have a way off of that doomed ship over there. No time, no time, no time. Not even a time for a goodbye.

Geordi stared at the glowing aura surrounding his best friend. Stared at those golden-orange eyes that stared right back at him. And as they stared at one another, Geordi’s mind erased everything beyond that moment. Past and future faded away, until all that existed was here. Now. His best friend, glowing yellow, framed by outer space. In the distance, that blasted ship that would be a pile of gases and debris in a few minutes. 

Somehow, Geordi wasn’t crying. He was...stuck. His emotions, his body, everything; trapped in this horrendous moment in time. His eyes were still locked on Data’s. 

As the moment ended and time ticked on, Geordi realized he needed to say something; do something. Fifteen years of friendship and closeness and togetherness and companionship needed a proper ending. But the words just wouldn’t come. No words could describe the way he felt; the way he felt that his world was ending. The way he wanted to grab that boy, pull him back into the safety of the ship, and never, never let him go.

Unable to speak, Geordi nodded. He tried to convey a lot in that small tilt of the head; the way that Data had always conveyed so much into his own head tilts. The good times, the bad times; friendship...love. They were all shining in Geordi’s bright blue eyes. At least, he hoped they were. He hoped Data understood, finally, that he was so, so, so much more than the sum of his parts. He was a person, and a person left things behind that couldn’t be written out in a will. 

Data returned the nod. And with that, Geordi knew it was over. Life as he knew it; over. Life; over. The fault was in their stars. Their stars and their lack of a second transporter and broken computer systems and the captain’s clone and...no, it was no use lamenting over it now. It was over.

Feeling a sense of numbness overtake his body, Geordi raised his hand to the door locks and unlatched it. Data was sent out into the night sky; his final mission. 

Geordi watched him until he disappeared. 

He watched him until the ship exploded, near enough to heat his face. But he kept on staring, even as his vision went blurry with the interference from the heat and the complicated debris patterns and the tears clouding his eyes and oh my, his face really was getting hot. Was the Enterprise closer to the explosion than he thought? He felt like he was burning; heat crawled up his neck until he was sweating and crying and-

……… …………… …………. …………… ………….. ………..

“Geordi!”

A gasp tore out of Geordi’s throat as his vision met darkness. God, had he passed out? He could still feel the heat of the explosion on his face, tracing up and down his back. But...he wasn’t on the floor. He was in a bed. A rather comfy bed.

“Geordi,” the voice repeated. It wasn’t Riker’s voice, as Geordi had first assumed. Not Worf. Not Picard. It was…

“Data!” cried Geordi. He sat up so fast his head swam for a moment. “Oh my God, Data.”

The android kneeling on his bed looked incredibly confused, especially when Geordi threw his arms around his neck and pulled him into a tight hug. Only when Geordi felt Data return the hug with a gentle pat on the back did he believe that maybe this was real. Maybe that other reality had been an illusion.

After taking a long moment to catch his breath, Geordi pulled away and looked at Data through the darkness. He had turned on the lights in their shared quarters, only halfway so as not to hurt Geordi’s sensitive ocular implants. So Geordi could see him. He could feel him. And he wasn’t even damaged; definitely not killed.

“You’re okay,” Geordi said, releasing a sigh. He touched his forehead to Data’s, shutting his eyes as a few tears trickled down his face. 

“Yes,” Data replied, lowering his voice to a gentle murmur. “You were experiencing a nightmare. Are you alright?”

“Y-yeah, Data.” Geordi looked up and smiled. Massaging Data’s shoulder, he pulled him into another hug. “I am now.”

Data allowed the hug to continue as long as Geordi needed it, which turned out to be more than four whole minutes. Then, as Geordi wiped sweat and tears off of his face, he spoke again.

“Would you like to discuss the nightmare? In the past, you have often found comfort in relaying your dreams to either myself or Counselor Troi.”

Memories of the dream raced through Geordi’s brain. He shivered just at the thought. Standing there, frozen, he had felt so helpless. And then he’d opened the door; just let Data go out on a suicide mission without a fight. Then the explosion. The heat. The pain.

Geordi turned down, blinking back the tears he would not let fall again. He was alright. Data was alright. They were in their quarters, safe. 

“It was about today,” Geordi explained, once he felt his voice was steady enough. He pushed off the bunched and sweaty covers and intertwined his hand with Data’s. “But in the dream I only installed one emergency transporter into your arm instead of two. You...you ended up sacrificing yourself to save the Captain. The ship...the ship exploded with you still onboard.”

Another shiver ran down his spine. It had been a long day, filled with more anxiety than most. But everyone was okay. Everyone had made it. 

Data supported Geordi’s more positive thoughts with some of his own.

“As you can see,” he said, “I am still alive. I believe the Captain is in his quarters. The ship did explode, but none of our crew were on board. We returned to the ship 2.4 seconds before the explosion.”

Geordi nodded. Right. It was all coming back to him now; his real memories, not the awful dream. Picard had showed up first, confused and terrified for Data, but safe. Then, not half a second later, Data transported himself, using the backup transporter Geordi had hidden in his opposite arm just in case of this kind of emergency. 

Then the ship had exploded, like Data said, with none of their crew on board.

“It was so close,” Geordi whispered. 

He pulled Data in for yet another hug. He shut his eyes and focused on the feeling of holding Data. The strong, metallic frame of his shoulders that was weirdly comfortable to rest his chin on. The softness of his silk pajamas under his fingers. His smooth, perfectly combed hair, even in the middle of the night.

His Data was right here, and he wasn’t going anywhere. 

“In future,” Data said, wrapping Geordi in his own embrace, “I will attempt to avoid situations that place myself at risk.”

“You better.” Geordi smirked, and then opened his eyes as a thought popped into his head. “First thing tomorrow morning I’m installing two more emergency transporters into your matrix. And I’m running a full diagnostic, just to be sure everything’s okay.”

“I am functioning within normal parameters,” Data assured. Then, with a small smile, he added, “However, I will oblige if it will make you more comfortable.”

Geordi squeezed Data closer to himself, rocking him back and forth in gentle motions. He smiled, and let another stray tear roll down his face. This one was happy. This one was relieved.

“I love you, Data. Never forget that.”

“I can not forget anything, Geordi,” Data replied. “Especially not something as important as that.”

Geordi pulled away from the hug with a bright smile. He stared at Data for a long moment, then kissed his cheek with a softness that would have melted even a Romulan’s heart. 

“Computer,” Geordi said, now that the terrible feelings of his nightmare had passed altogether. “Turn off the lights. It’s time for us to get back to sleep.”

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading!


End file.
